Blog Authors

Natalie has been the Bound4LIFE Birmingham Chapter Leader since 2008. She works as a children's director and curriculum writer for the children’s ministry at her local church in Birmingham, Alabama. She’s on the leadership team for the Birmingham Prayer Furnace as a prayer leader and serves as a weekly counselor for Sav-A-Life, a local pregnancy test center. Natalie longs to teach and provoke the hearts of the next generation for Jesus’ righteousness, intercession, and justice!

Marisa Lengor Kwaning is a writer, editor and health policy analyst who resides in Washington, D.C. She has worked in public health, disaster management, as well as foreign and domestic health policy. She earned a Masters degree in Public Policy from George Mason University and currently consults at Final Draft:Writing Services.Read Posts By Marisa Lengor Kwaning

Matt is a husband and proud father of four children. He's a full-time missionary serving as the Director of Bound4LIFE and the Justice House of Prayer DC. Formerly he had a career in advertising and marketing. These days he really wishes he had paid more attention in government class.

Ellie lives in quaint Jasper, AL with her husband Andrew. They are passionate lovers of Jesus and live to share His word and love with anyone they meet. They believe the kindness of God is what brings change and are fully committed to being vessels of that kindness. Ellie loves to minister to women, to teach, to dance, to hug, and of course to hold babies.

After 10 years in communications/marketing at The Heritage Foundation and Focus on the Family, Josh M. Shepherd serves as Communications Manager at Bound4LIFE. He earned a degree in Business Marketing from the University of Colorado. Passionate about the next generation knowing the Father heart of God, Josh’s highest earthly honor is being husband to his lovely wife Terri.Read Posts By Josh M. Shepherd

Planned Parenthood, which makes its living aborting future generations of families, is expecting again. When it comes to Planned Parenthood in Texas, the favorite child is the Houston abortion facility that opened last year, offering a full range of services including late-term abortions. But in the works is a multi-million dollar abortion center in another part of the state, as Planned Parenthood of North Texas (PPNT) is in the midst of a capital campaign to replace its Fort Worth facility with a sprawling new center to expand its services. This facility is slated to open within the next year and a half.

Calling it a “flagship” center, like its Houston center, the Fort Worth center is estimated to be over 20,000 square feet, but with a capital campaign goal of $21.5 million, a full $5 million more than the Houston mega-center that opened last year, there seem to be some pricey upgrades planned.

“Planned Parenthood will be opening the new flagship facility, which will include a larger medical space and family planning facility, as well as administrative offices that house our Education department, within the next year and a half. Unfortunately, for safety reasons, we cannot disclose an exact location or open date, but the project is on track and moving forward.”

According to Planned Parenthood’s own annual report for 2008-2009, when the Houston facility was built, it more than doubled its space from 35,000 square feet in two buildings to 78,000 square feet in one. When Fort Worth builds its new facility, one representative said in an email we obtained, it will quadruple its current space.

The current Fort Worth center is appraised at $218,581, but Planned Parenthood’s replacement building is estimated at $6.5 million, which is only one part of its $21.5 million capital campaign. Says a representative:

“In Fort Worth, we own our administrative office and health center at 301 S Henderson, 76104. Unfortunately, that building (built in 1952) is less than 5,000 square feet and is too small to adequately meet the needs of Tarrant County's growing community. The new facility will provide nearly four times the space!”

In fact, the building on Henderson Avenue is estimated by the Texas Appraisal District to have closer to 5400 square feet, so if that quadruples, that’s almost 22,000 square feet. While the Planned Parenthood website says it will triple the size, the fact remains, whichever source is right, it’s going to vastly expand the facilities and, as the campaign cite points out:

“[R]eplace Planned Parenthood’s existing Fort Worth medical and administrative facility, which is neither large nor modern enough to accommodate the needs of the growing Tarrant County community.”

It adds a very troubling line:

“Fully $2 million will be directed to health center improvements, including implementing electronic health records and improving and relocating specific sites to more accessible locations.”

Consider what relocating sites to more accessible locations means. Since the abortion centers are already in public places and one can drive to them, accessible likely means easier to reach target audiences, such as the Houston center which is placed on a major freeway and between three minority neighborhoods and next to a university.

News in Texas has been focused on the cuts that have contributed to closing several Planned Parenthood offices. In fact, seven of the 12 closures are part of the PPNT affiliate (and Tyler, TX, which is on the verge of closing is also part of this affiliate). One has to wonder if the closures and cries for help are really more of crying wolf because this center has been in the works all along, certainly before Texas slashed the budget a few months ago.

However, despite its public façade of the funding crisis leaving poor women without health care, PPNT says:

“…Despite the devastating funding cuts after the 2011 Texas Legislative session, Planned Parenthood continues to move forward with its capital campaign. We have made various changes to adapt to the loss of government funding, and with the help of our generous supporters and the funds raised through the capital campaign, Planned Parenthood of North Texas is looking forward to a bright and strong future. The new facility in Fort Worth has not been impacted by the decisions made by Texas legislators this year.”

This news sheds new light on the need for Planned Parenthood to have any funding from public sources. Lamenting the state’s cut budget, Planned Parenthood has launched an all out attack on what it notes are “anti-choice extremists” in many of its media communications, but if it can still afford to build a huge new facility, one has to wonder how much the organization is really hurting financially.

As we launch new prayer efforts to keep this center from becoming a reality, let’s pray for a continued revelation of this tragic organization. Tax-exempt and filled with rich donors, the “planned” behind Planned parenthood has more to do with birth control, which includes abortive options, and abortion itself. It’s a moral crime to stand by and watch it grow. The only pregnancy that should be aborted is Planned Parenthood's upcoming abortion center.

We'll be looking at more of this in upcoming blogs, including the finances of PPNT and the planning of the new center itself.

About Susan Michelle

Left on the street, Susan was taken to a Catholic orphanage where she was adopted at 6 months old by a single woman. Susan speaks on issues of abortion and adoption.